Super Eagles defender Ryan Alebiosu played a crucial role for Blackburn Rovers at the Bet365 Stadium on Saturday as they grabbed a vital away point, following their 1-1 draw with Stoke City in the EFL Championship, Footynaija.com reports.
Alebiosu and the Rovers went into the game in high spirits, having managed to stay unbeaten in their last four Championship outings courtesy of wins over Millwall and Birmingham City as well as crucial draws against Middlesbrough and West Bromwich Albion.
The confidence gained from these decent sets of results showed as they cruised into a first half lead on enemy territory courtesy of some fine work from Alebiosu in the 21st minute.
The Nigeria international got on the ball following a slick passage of play involving Ryoya Morishita and Yuki Ohashi, before cutting it back to the edge of the box where Adam Forshaw curled a right-footed strike into the net.
He remained influential throughout the game and almost grabbed another assist just before the break, delivering a cross to Ohashi whose header drifted narrowly off target.
Blackburn would eventually come to rue Ohashi’s missed opportunity as Stoke took control of proceedings in the second half and ultimately found their leveller through Jesurun Rak-Sakyi in the 57th minute to close out proceedings in a stalemate.
The draw extended Blackburn’s unbeaten run to five matches, keeping them four points clear of the relegation zone with four games remaining.
For Alebiosu, the assist was his fourth of the ongoing EFL Championship season and he’ll be looking to continue making significant contributions as Michael O’Neil’s men aim for a strong end to the season.
